Pros: What I personally like and how this course stacks up in my list of 9 ole courses:

1) Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution. == B-
(There is thick rough on many of the holes that MAY cost you an extra stroke if you really screw up bad. This is a great feature for this area as most courses have almost no punishment. Problem is, the holes are so short that being off-line enough for that to happen is unlikely.....and even if you do, you are close enough to to the basket to have a good shot at recovery.)

2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I throw 300' accurately, 360' max. == B-
(It is a birdie-fest course with over half the holes being gimme birdies (I shot a 6 down 21 2nd time through). But....the final 3 holes are really cool: 7 is a longish open throw whose final 50' are through a narrow gap into the woods and up an incline. 8 is a right-turning hole that slopes downwards gradually. It turns too soon for how your disc wants to fly, so you are forced to throw a very tricky shot. 9 is #8 in reverse - uphill right-to-left that turns too soon. Great holes for a short course.....and rewarding to birdie!)

3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography == A-
(For a short 9-holer this course does a really nice job forcing you to throw a bunch of different shots. Like I said in #2 - the final three holes are really cool!)

4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion. == B+
(Seclusion is is superb and it is quite pretty...but not gorgeous. It is a nice mix of woods and prairie. The grassy fairways on most of the course is a very nice touch.)

5) Bonus points for multi-throw holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them. == N/A

Cons: This course sits way in the back of a park. It is at least a 200 yd walk to hole 1 and the course is invisible from the parking lot (other than the bright yellow signs directing you to hole 1 - very appreciated!).

I do not know the lay of the land, but it seems there is plenty of room to put another 9 holes in between the parking lot and the course. If they get around to doing that, this could be a sweet 18 hole track for new to mid-level players.

Other Thoughts: It's all about feeding the addiction, so I ranked this course subjectively based on my own "personal addiction factor". The grades above tell how well the course will draw me back to itself again and again and again. Since I have played a decent number of courses (149 18-hole, 91 9-hole as of late 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar addiction tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they choose courses to play and explore.

I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me....that's the fun of things here. See my profile for my rating philosophy.

Pros: A challenging short course that rewards precision. It is nicely landscaped and several holes, notably 3 and 7, are quite picturesque.

The course is isolated from other activities in the park, so there are no swing sets, swimming pools, picnic areas, houses, etc. that could interfere with your round.

Good signage and easy to follow from hole to hole.

Cons: The course design is too tight. With all the available land (they're planning to add another 9 holes) they somehow designed the holes very close together. As examples, if you overshoot the 3rd basket, you could easily hit someone on the 6th tee (I almost did). I was nearly hit on the 4th tee by an errant 3rd hole tee shot (the shooter couldn't see me). And the 5th basket is only about 10 feet from the 6th hole fairway.

Mosquitoes can be bad. I've played several times and on one occasion the mosquitoes were as bad as I've ever experienced.

The rough is harsh and can be intimidating, with thick thorny bushes in many spots. Losing a disc is a distinct possibility.

Other Thoughts: Lots of blind tee shots, as only on the 3rd and 7th tees can you see the basket. While not objectively bad, my preference would be for fewer blind holes.

Overall, a vast improvement and much nicer course that the other Mundelein course (Leo Leathers Park).